Eyewitness News at 6: June 30, 2013

We begin this evening with a fatal house fire... at the 100 block of Stonewall Place in Macon.

It happened around 9:30 this morning.
50-year-old Terry Floyd was pronounced dead by Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones.
Jones says Floyd is the son of Twiggs County Commissioner Donald Floyd.
13WMAZ talked to Ricky Norris...Terry Floyd's neighbor. He declined to talk on camera...but says he called the fire department when he smelled smoke this morning.
Norris says he went to check on Floyd...and says he found Floyd's body near the front door.

Jones says this is the 11th fire-related death this year.
The autopsy will be completed Monday.

Earlier this week... We had a chance to speak with Lt. Demetrius Ellison from the Macon Fire department on how you can protect your house.

First... He recommends having smoke detectors in between bedrooms... And have more than one smoke detector for every floor you have.
Be sure to check the batteries once a month... And change them twice a year.
If your smoke detector starts beeping and you believe there is no smoke...this might be a sign to change the batteries.
The fire department can help you install them in your home... Give them a call at 478... 751... 91-80. Again that's 478...751...91-80

Have a fire escape plan for you and your family... And practice it before there is an emergency.
Draw a floor plan of your home... And make sure that everyone knows where the smoke detectors are. Practice exiting from the doors and the windows.

Also Keep a fire extinguisher ... You can purchase them at any home improvement store.
And when cooking... Do not leave food unattended.
Also... Do not extinguish a grease fire with water.
Instead... Cover it with a pot top.

For more safety tips... Call the safety hotline at 478... 751... 2700. Again that number is 478...751...2700.

Also this week... The United States celebrates another year as an independent nation.
With this year's celebration... The state of Georgia allows you to use certain types of fireworks.
Federal Authorities with the Atlanta office of the Bureau of Alcohol... Tobacco... Firearms and Explosives reminds you to follow the directions on the packaging of fireworks.
And be aware of the local laws regulating how you use them.
ATF is the law enforcement agency that enforces federal explosives laws... Including fireworks.
Earlier this week... Safety officials demonstrated the proper way to use fireworks that are legal in Georgia.
State Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens was on hand to provide safety tips.
He says wear safety glasses when lighting fireworks.
Also... keep a bucket of water near you at all times.

For every firework you light... Drop it in the water whether or not it has gone off...instead of in the trash.
He also says it's good to use a longer lighter so that you avoid touching the wick.
Always light fireworks on a level surface... not on the grass or near anything that can catch on fire.

And be sure that only adults are lighting the fireworks... Not children.

The fourth of July hits this Thursday... And towns throughout central Georgia and across the nation will do their part to show love and patriotism for the United States of America.

The town of Perry is no exception... And they hold their parade today.

Elise Brown is in Perry... Where the festivities are underway... Elise?

Thank you Elise.
We'll have more from the parade tonight... On Eyewitness News at 11.

Volunteers in five different north Georgia cities... Teamed up to try and set a guiness world record today.
But this record was also an effort to provide some help to children... Who do not get enough to eat during the summer months.
Our sister Station WXIA joined one of the groups in Lithonia... As they made sandwiches for children in need.

Before yesterday's Braves game in Atlanta... Two teams faced off on the diamond... Full of former members of the franchise.

It was team Sid Bream squaring off against team John Smoltz for an alumni softball game.
There were plenty of big hits for both sides... But it was the Smoltz team that prevailed.
The braves also honored deceased players... Coaches...managers and administrators with a memorial diamond.
It is located in the monument garden... And bares all of their names.

Four Swedish tourists and a pilot are safe today...after a helicopter... carrying them lost power 12 minutes after take-off.
The pilot landed the helicopter in New York's Hudson River.

It happened Sunday around noon.
Authorities say the pilot used the craft's pontoons to keep the helicopter afloat.
In 2009...a US Airways flight landed safely on the Hudson after striking geese.
All 155 people aboard survived.
No word yet on what caused the helicopter to lose power.

President Barack Obama and his family visited South Africa's former prison of Robben Island Sunday...to pay tribute to ex-inmate Nelson Mandela.
Mandela remains critically ill.

President Obama went by helicopter to the island.
They saw the former prison's lime quarry...where Mandela and other inmates toiled for years
Their guide was an 83-year-old former inmate and anti-apartheid activist...who spoke about his time there with Mandela and other African National Congress prisoners

Even though the president was in South Africa to visit the family of Nelson Mandela and speak on peace-keeping... Many people in that country did not want him there.

They gathered outside of the University of Johannesburg campus... Where Obama held a town meeting last night.
Protestors refused to leave before president obama's arrival... And police fired sun grenades at them.
There was no immediate word on casualties... But several arrests were made.
The protestors want the U-S to stop its aggressive policies... Which they say lead to crimes against humanity and the environment.

<No oil, there is nothing to gain, that's all and he is a murderer, he has murdered many many people. We should be very worried that he is here, we should be very worried as a nation he is here, because if they are here, they are here to steal. That's it,>

The president's visit is for three days in South Africa... His first visit as president.
His next stop is in Tanzania.